Pedestrians vs. Cyclists, Battleground: City Hall Park, New York
by Judd WileyJuly 13th, 2008, 9:39 am
The New York Times today published a very revealing article titled “Green Light for Cyclists Is a Red Flag for Walkers.”
The topic is City Hall Park, an 8.8-acre triangular area in lower Manhattan bordered by Chambers Street to the north, Broadway to the west and Centre Street and Park Row to the east.
Closed to the public after 9/11, City Hall Park reopened on July 31, 2007, largely due to the work of an advocacy group called Friends of City Hall Park, which had threatened to sue the city.
One of the most attractive elements of the park (which I’ve been to several times) is its bucolic pedestrian pathway, which begins at Warren Street, heads southward between Tweed Courthouse and City Hall, and straightens near Centre Street with an area to deposit strollers.
The reopening of this park was a huge victory for Friends of City Hall Park. However, Skip Blumberg, the organization’s president, thinks his success in reopening the park is about to be undermined. The reason:
On July 1, the city’s Department of Transportation opened the path to cyclists as a connecting artery between the Hudson River Greenway and the Brooklyn Bridge.
According to Blumberg,
“In New York, bicyclists are aggressive, and some will use this as a highway.”
Blumberg’s frustration is understandable. You toil for years to reopen a beloved pedestrian park in your neighborhood, you lobby politicians and bureaucrats, you even threaten to sue the city, and then – before you’ve had time to fully savor your victory - the city’s Department of Transportation decides to turn the main pathway in the park into a “connecting artery” for bicyclists.
The Times also interviewed Sullen Epstein, a local gym teacher, who echoed Blumberg’s point that cyclists are aggressive.
[Epstein cited] among other things, her own brief experience as [a cyclist]. Her first job after moving to New York in the 1970s was as a bike messenger, and being paid by the job, she confessed, offered a good incentive to go fast.
These days, biking around the city on less urgent errands, she finds herself frequently appalled by the speed, recklessness and rudeness among those cyclists easily identifiable, she said, by their “Lycra outfits.”
Epstein has a point. Urban bicyclists frequently ride in a speedy, reckless, and rude manner, posing a danger to everyone around them, not to mention themselves. Since they aren’t subject to licensing, registration, inspection, insurance, and safety regulations, these bicyclists operate in a consequence-free zone.
Blumberg and Epstein apparently aren’t the only members of the neighborhood frustrated by the city’s decision to turn their park into a “connecting artery” for bicyclists. In fact, “community objections” are strong enough that Seth Solomonow, a Transportation Department spokesman, felt it necessary to justify his department’s position:
“Shared spaces like this are found elsewhere in the city and in public areas around the country and the world.” A route through the park, he added, is the safest connection between the two bike baths.
On the other side of the debate, Transportation Alternatives, “an advocacy group for both cyclists and pedestrians” (read: anti-car), supports bicycle access to the park, but would rather see a protected bike lane along Chambers Street. Rephrased: bicyclists should be allowed everywhere.
What to do here? Well, it sure doesn’t make any sense to turn City Hall Park into a “connecting artery” for bicyclists. As mentioned above, bicyclists in New York go very fast, and are subject to very few rules and regulations. Just as bicyclists shouldn’t be allowed on sidewalks for fear that they’ll crash into pedestrians, they shouldn’t be allowed on City Hall Park’s pedestrian pathway.
Thanks to Queens Crapper and Forgotten NY for pointing us to this article.
UPDATE: July 13, 2008, 10:58 AM
We’ve located NYC Department of Transportation’s official talking points on why letting bicyclists into City Hall Park is a good idea.
- Width adequate for pedestrians and one-way bicycle travel
- Cyclists not anticipated to overwhelm space
- High pedestrian to cyclist ratio will make cyclists “guests” in formal pedestrian space
- Little benefit to cycling fast in this short segment
- Offset peaks of demand
- Chess tables at entry will serve to calm bicycle traffic
Yes, chess tables.
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Posted in Bicycles, Politics, Uncategorized Rage |
You made a mistake. The photo of the fountain is not the path where cyclists are being allowed. That path is much further south and does not run east or west.
You’re right, thanks. Taking the photo out to avoid further confusion.
More details: http://www.sohojournal.com/?p=1076
Photo fixed.
This is a continuing story: Tuesday 2:30 pm meeting with DOT
Wednesday 4 pm meeting with DPR
for more info
http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/newsjuly08/cityhallpath2.html including short video
http://www.villagevoice.com/2007-03-06/news/city-hall-park-throws-off-its-chains/1
Skip,
Good luck in the coming weeks. Please keep us updated.
The idea that any city agency will enforce a “dismount/walk” rule for cyclists going through the northern part of City Hall Park is as ludicrous as expecting cyclists to voluntarily comply with such a rule.
By simply observing the cyclist activity along the sidewalks by the west edge of West Street, between Chambers and Vesey Streets (in Battery Park City), one will realize the pervasive disregard too many of these riders have for rules and safety. The intersections at Warren Street (and West Street in BPC), Murray Street, and Vesey Street are full of obvious construction and very tight spaces shared with pedestrians. And, bright orange signs notifying cyclists to dismount and walk their bikes.
Yet, a good estimate is that over 50% of cyclists blatantly ignore this signage and the requirement (or is it a suggestion) to dismount/walk. For that matter, there is zero evidence of any individual or entity active in enforcement.
The most obvious concern is that someone will get seriously hurt by such renegade cycling. Since this area is populated by two elementary schools, the Manhattan Youth Community Center, Downtown Day Camp (at PS234), BPC Ballfields, and shops (including a movie theater), it is also well traveled by kids, mothers and young children. There is also a seniors residence about one block west (between Warren and Chambers Streets).
Anyway, the point is that, no matter what anyone — DOT, cyclist groups — promises about dismounting or walking bikes, if there is a designated bike path in City Hall Park then there will be a plentiful breed of arrogant cyclist riding through, exhibiting absolute contempt for kids, seniors, dog walkers, workers, families, tourists and others strolling or resting.
It’s really scary to think of what would happen if one of those “alleycat races” decided to use City Hall Park as a “connecting artery.” Look at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNgJrfgXijg
Someone is going to get killed. This is a very serious issue. We need to make sure bikes aren’t allowed into this park.
I agree with Ron, there’s no way the city will enforce a dismount/walk rule.
Bicyclists are dangerous to pedestrians - see my post on the subject here:
http://www.commuteroutrage.com/2008/07/02/more-bicycle-safety-studies-needed/
I would be willing to bet that opening this park to bicyclists will result in pedestrian injuries and fatalities.
Good luck Skip, I hope you can talk some sense into these people.
We were walking on the Hudson River pedestrian path and the walk was rather compromised by having to dodge whizzing bikes. Eventually we just shrugged and exited.
Bicyclists, when they have to share pedestrian paths with pedestrians, should be protected by a fence. (From the bicyclists’ POV, pedestrians should be fenced off).
Really takes the pleasure out of walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, which I rarely do because on the narrow path bikes and pedestrians are separated by a painted white line.
As for the situation on the west side bike path south of 59th Street — even if you’re on a bike, if you’re like me and you want a leisurely ride, observing what’s around you and stopping now and then, it’s impossible because the Lycra guys and gals want to race.
I’ve taken to avoiding the shared bike-ped paths altogether, except when necessary; it’s a shame. City Hall Park is just another example.
http://www.forgotten-ny.com